Tourism

Warangal Fort

The 12th and the 13th centuries saw the emergence of the Kakatiyas. They were at first the feudatories of the Western Chalukyas of Kalyana, ruling over a small territory near Warangal. A ruler of this dynasty, Prola II, who ruled from A.D.1110 to 1158, extended his sway to the south and declared his independence. His successor Rudra (A.D.1158--1195) pushed the kingdom to the north up to the Godavari delta. He built a fort at Warangal to serve as a second capital and faced the invasions of the Yadavas of Devagiri. The next ruler Mahadeva extended the kingdom to the coastal area. In A.D.1199, Ganapati succeeded him. He was the greatest of the Kakatiyas and the first after the Satavahanas to bring the entire Telugu area under one rule. He put an end to the rule of the Velanati Cholas in A.D.1210. He forced the Telugu Cholas of Vikramasimhapura to accept his suzerainty. He established order in his vast dominion and encouraged trade.As Ganapati Deva had no sons, his daughter Rudramba succeeded him in A.D.1262 and carried on the administration.
Some generals, who did not like to be ruled by her, rebelled.

Thousand Pillar Temple

The Thousand Pillar Temple is one of the very old temples of South India that was built by the kakatiyas. It stands out to be a masterpiece and achieved major heights in terms of architectural skills by the ancient kakathiya vishwakarma sthapathis. It is believed that the Thousand Pillar Temple was built by King Rudra Deva in 1163 AD. The Thousand Pillar Temple is a specimen of the Kakatiyan style of architecture of the 12th century.
It was destroyed by the Tughlaq dynasty during their invasion of South India. It consists one temple and other building. There are one thousand pillars in the building and the temple, but no pillar obstructs a person in any point of the temple to see the god in the other temple.
The present day engineers have taken out all the pillars from the building. After they lifted all the pillars they encountered a huge mass of sand. It took nearly two weeks for them to take away all the sand. It was wet sand, because of a pipe connection from the nearby water body named Bhadrakali Cheruvu.

The Ramappa Temple

Ramappa gudi also known as the Ramalingeswara temple, is located 77 km from Warangal, the ancient capital of the Kakatiya dynasty, 157 km from Hyderabad in the state of Telangana in southern India. It lies in a valley at Palampet village of Venkatapur Mandal, in erstwhile Mulug Taluq of Warangal district, a tiny village long past its days of glory in the 13th and 14th centuries. An inscription in the temple dates it to the year 1213 and said to have been built by a General Recherla Rudra, during the period of the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva.This medieval temple is a Shivalaya (where Shiva is worshipped) and named after the sculptor Ramappa.
It is the only temple in the world named after its sculptor/architect.Its presiding deity, Ramalingeswara, is the form of Shiva and a personal god of the Avatar of Vishnu, Rama. The history says that it took 40 years to build this temple.
This is opposite the beautiful temple, an example of brilliant Kakatiya dynasty art, Planned and sculpted by Ramappa, the temple was built on the classical pattern of being lifted above the world on a high star-shaped platform.
Intricate carvings line the walls and cover the pillars and ceilings. Starting at its base to its wall panels, pillars and ceiling are sculpted figures drawn from Hindu mythology.

The Bhadrakali Temple

Dedicated to the Goddess 'Bhadrakali' is a precious deity of this region. Located on the hilltop between the twin cities of Hanamkonda and Warangal with a artificial lake of 2 ½ kms radius is one of the major attractions of the city. The main attraction of the temple is the square image of the goddess (2.7 X 2.7 meters), an ancient Bhadrakali in sitting posture wearing a crown with eight hands, holding weapons. The festive occasion of visiting this temple is in the telugu month of 'Sravana' (August-September), when the deity is decorated in various forms becoming an major attractions to the devotees. The surrounding mountain area of the temple is developed into a sacred one with about 8 major and 12 minor temples attracting lot number of devotees.
The temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali, found in peaceful mood. This temple is located on the banks of Bhadrakali Lake. There is a park adjacent to the temple along Bhadrakali Lake which also has a shrine for Lord Siva in the form of Sri Chandra Mouleeswara.
Brahmotsavas are held every year in the month of April/May in a grand manner. The festival attracts thousands of devotees from all over the region of Telangana.

The Pakhal Lake And The Wild Life Sanctuary

About 50 kms east of the historical city of Warangal, amidst undulating forest-clad hills and dales is the man made lake Pakhal built during 12-13 AD in the reign of King Ganapathi Deva. It stands as a live example of the Vastu Vignana (Knowledge of Vastu), which found its expression in the building activity of the Kakatiya kings. Around the shores of this lake is the Pakhal Wild Life Sanctuary covering an area of 900 Sq. Kms with dense forest, Shelter of tigers and a large variety of protected animals.
Adjacent to the lake, Pakhal Wildlife Sanctuary is spread over 839 sq. kms. The sanctuary presents a beautiful landscape with a dense and a rich store of animals. it is indeed a delight for the tourists to see so many animals amidst a wonderful backdrop.
One can spot a tiger or a leopard or a bear and one can find a herd of deer roaming about freely in the wild. The sanctuary is also harboring Marmals like panthers, hyensa, wolf, wild dogs, jackals, sloth bear, nilgal, porcupine, langoor, Reptiles like python, cobra, common krait, monitor lizard and Crocodile

Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary

Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary located in Eturnagaram village in Warangal district in Telangana, India. It is located 250 km (160 mi) away from Hyderabad.
Telangana has splendid wildlife reserves, one of such is the Eturnagaram wildlife sanctuary, which is 55 km (34 mi) from Warangal. The sanctuary is located near the Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana border. It is one of the oldest sanctuaries of Telangana. In the year 1952 on 30 January the erstwhile Hyderabad Government because of its rich bio-diversity declared it as a sanctuary.
The land is undulating from steep slopes to gentle slopes from west to east. Three-quarters of the area consist of a plain while the rest is hilly with many streams and springs. Godavari river passes through the sanctuary. The vegetation here is tropical dry deciduous with teak and other trees of good quality standing 60 ft (18 m) and above. The biennial festival of Sammakka Saralamma Jatara is held in the sanctuary.

Kazipet

The Kazipet railway junction is situated at a distance of about 132 kms from Hyderabad and is 7 kms from the city of Hanamkonda. It connects North–South and East -West rail transport of the Indian Railway.
This place is famous for the 'Green Durgah' i.e. the tomb of Afzal Shah Biyabani, the Quazi of Warangal during the time of Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah II. This place is also famous for the Urs that is celebrated in honour of Afzal Shah Biyabani from the 21-28th of safar, (June-July) when more than 10,000 muslim devotees from all over India congregate. The Kazipet Durgah is the place of visit not only for the Muslim Community but also for other religions from all over the Country. This place is also noted for the Christian festival of Lady Fatima.

Sammakka Saralamma Jatara

Sammakka Saralamma Jatara or Medaram Jatara is a tribal festival of honouring the goddesses celebrated in the state of Telangana, India.The Jatra begins at Medaram in Tadvai Mandal in Warangal district.[1] It commemorates the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law. It is believed that after Kumbha Mela, the Medaram jatara attracts the largest number of devotees in the country. An estimated 10 million people gathered in 2012.
It is celebrated in Medaram during the time the goddesses of the tribals is believed to visit them. Medaram is a remote place in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, a part of Dandakaranya, the largest surviving forest belt in the Deccan.
Sammakka Sarakka Jatara is the time for the largest tribal religious congregation in the world, held every two years (biennually), with approximately ten million people converging on the place, over a period of four days, which is 90 km from Warangal city.
The Samakka Jatra is a State Festival of Govt. of Telangana.

Hemachala lakshmi Narasimha swami temple (Mallur)

Malluru famous for Sri Ugra Narasimha Swamy temple, is located app 90 Km from Bhadrachalam(famous Sri Rama Shrine in south India) and app 130KM from Warangal City.
This temple has many specialities, the height of mollaviraat Sri Narasimha Swamy is upto 10 feet. It is located in the midst of forest. The Belly part of Moolavirat idol is soft as human skin.The dwjasthambha here at the temple is nearly 60 feet in height.
There is a rockformed Ugra Anjaneya Swamy Statue near to the temple. There is a photo of it above in this post. It is the first of its kind known in South India. There is a continuous water flow near the temple, where its from the top of the hills.
The beautiful and mellifluous nature around the temple premises is beyond description. The splendid scenery surrounded by the mountain ranges along which pass the narrow path, outlined by different varieties of medicinal trees through which flows the Chintamani Lake a quenching delight to all the devotees all through the year and a source of water resource for the people staying in this place. It is no exaggeration to say that this deified environment cannot be seen in any other place of historical richness.

Mettu Gutta

Mettu gutta is famous temple constucted by devotes of lord shive in kakatiya dynasty.. It is on the way from Hyderabad to Warangal by way of National Highway 202. Also Known as Manigiri.
There are two temples on Mettu gutta. One temple is for Lord Shiva and other one is for Lord Sri Ram. Local people call this temple as Mettu Rama Lingeshwara swamy temple. There are four historical temples in the village. Lord Shiva Keshava temple, Lord Venu Gopalaswamy temple, Lord Hanumangi and Mettu Rama Lingeshwaraswamy Temple.
Here the linga has emerged from ground in 45 degree angle and still raising to protect the village and town with his sweet blessing to the people of warangal , the mountain top temple has a road , and has 7 water springs which carry patala ganga and is belived that is connected to nearest shiva keshtras in dynasty , one is belived to be 100 km long till the famous ramappa, and a sleeping 100 yrs old nag sanke gaurding the temple properties during trouble.

Laknavaram Lake

Laknavaram Lake is around 78 km from Warangal; 7 km from Govindaraopet and 5 km from Chalvai. Tourists coming from Warangal direction has to take the NH 202 road towards Mulugu. After crossing mulugu, drive 8 km you willget Chalvai before starting please take right direction into the thick forest to reach this place. The green hills of Govindaraopet agency mandal lie side by side to form a massive bowl like structure which holds the spacious, beautiful and pristine lake popular known as ‘Laknavaram Cheruvu’. The lake was the discovery of ancient Kakatiya rulers. They spotted this excellent place amidst trees and green hills lined up around to hold the rainwater. The King Ganapathi devudu only built a small sluice gate turning the place into a spacious lake which now feeds thousands of acres of agricultural land every year.
A sweet-water lake spread over 10,000 acres in the midst of green lush hills surrounded by thick forests..
Tourism officials maintain that Laknavaram is eco-tourism water body and boating is banned for three months after releasing water to the second crop as it feeds thousands of acres of farmers who grow paddy and fruits in the adjoining Govindaraopet village and mandal.

Inugurthy

Ingurthi an ancient village of historical significance was under the rule of the Kakatiya Kings. A reservoir called the Gunti Cheruvu reservoir, which is said to have been constructed by Kakatiya Prola during 1117 AD that can still be seen in this village. The first Telugu weekly from Telangana, namely, the Telugu Patrika was edited and started from this place for some years.

Ghanapuram

It is located 22.5 kms north of Mulug, the taluk headquarters. A big man made tank with a catchments area of 64 sq. kms know as Ganapuram tank and a Siva temple are the important places in this village. Both these were constructed by the Kakatiya Kings.

The Kakatiya Musical Garden

The city has the privilege of having the Bhadrakali Tank and Bhadrakali Temple on its bund encircled by hillocks with beautiful natural surroundings. The land measuring about 15 acres was handed over to the Kakatiya Urban Development authority by the Government by the side of artificial lake of about 6 kms in radius tank. In 1989-90, the Kakatiya Urban Development Authority, Warangal, developed a garden by name the Kakatiya Musical Garden in an area of about 9 acres. This area is endowed with great potential for a musical fountain. There are artificial water falls, boating facility for the young and the old alike with beautiful natural landscaping.